ઈશ્વર પેટલીકર લિખિત 'લોહીની સગાઇ' એ અદભુત વાર્તા સંગ્રહ છે. આ સંગ્રહમાં કુલ ઓગણીસ (19) વાર્તાઓનો સમાવેશ થયેલ છે, જે અનુક્રમે,
1- લોહીની સગાઇ,
2- જાદુ મંત્ર
3- સ્વર્ગમાં,
4- કેસર
5- એક જ રઢ
6- સ્મૃતિચિન્હ
7- હાજરાહજૂર દેવ
8- બુટપોલીશવાળો
9- સાપવાળા સાહેબ
10- રોહિણી
11- હરામનું ખાનાર દેવ
12- રાજુ
13- મોટીબહેન
14- આસોપાલવ
15- કંકોત્રી
16- મંગળફેરા
17- દેવનો દીધેલ
18- દ્વદ્વયુદ્ધ
19- રુદિયાનું દર્દ
આ તમામ વાર્તાઓમાં લોહીના સંબંધોની એક બીજા પરત્વેની લાગણી, પ્રેમ, કરુણાનું ઉત્તમ વર્ણન કરાયેલું છે. જેમ કે સ્વર્ગ, રોહિણી, લોહીની સગાઇ, દેવનો દીધેલ વગેરે જેવી વાર્તાઓમાં માતા - સંતાનના પ્રેમ અને વિયોગનું કરુણતમ વર્ણન વાંચીને વાચકના રુંવાટા ઉભા થયાં વિના ન રહે.વળી જે વાર્તા પરથી પુસ્તકનું નામ પડ્યું છે તે 'લોહીની સગાઇ' વાર્તા તો બધાથી ઉચ્ચ સ્થાન પામીલે છે. એક ગાંડી દીકરી પ્રત્યે માનો પ્રેમ અને ચિંતા, અને અંતે દીકરીના વિયોગથી મા પણ ગાંડી થઇ જાય તે દરેક વાચકને ઊંડે સ્પર્શી જાય. વાર્તાનો છેલ્લુ વાક્ય,
'અમરતકાકી મંગુની નાતમાં વટલાઈ ગયા હતાં !'
આ વાક્ય માતૃત્વનું ઉચ્ચતમ શિખર કેવું હોઈ તેની જાંખી કરાવે છે. વળી આ વાર્તા લેખકના સ્વાનુભવ પરથી લખાય હોવાથી પણ બીજી વાર્તાઓ કરતા થોડી આગળ રહે છે. લેખકની ગાંડી બહેન અને માતાના જીવનથી પ્રેરિત થઈને આ વાર્તા લેખક ઈશ્વર પેટલીકર દ્વારા લખાઈ હતી.
લોહીની સગાઇ વાર્તા સંગ્રહ કુલ 232 પાનામા લખાયેલ છે. નવભારત સાહિત્ય મંદિર દ્વારા તેનું પ્રકાશન કરવામાં આવ્યું છે.
Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written in a response to Thinking Activity, Which is Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about well known novel 'Foe' by South African-born Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee. The point i am. Going to discuss here are, About the text 'Foe', About author (J. M. Coetzee), Important questions from Novel.
About 'Foe' :-
Foe is well known novel by J. M. Coetzee. The novel was written in 1986. The novel was Woven around Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.Foe is written from the perspective of Susan Barton, who is in adventure and landed on a Island that inhabited by Cruso and Friday. The novel was written from Susan Barton's narrative point of view. She was in England and trying to convince the writer Daniel Foe to help transform her tale into popular fiction.
The novel is of 157 pages.main themes of the novel is power and language use, racism, industrialism etc.Coetzee was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature for Foe. Watch video to know more about the novel.
About J. M. Coetzee :-
Full name of J. M. Coetzee is John Maxwell Coetzee, he was born in 9 February 1940, in Cape Town, South Africa.he is well known novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wan many awards like Booker Prize (twice), the CNA Prize (thrice), the Jerusalem Prize, the Prix Femina étranger, and The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and holds a number of other awards and honorary doctorates. He knows three languages English, Afrikaans,and Dutch. He have nationality of two nations South African and Australian (since 2006). Now he is l living in Adelaide.
Coetzee's first novel was Dusklands (1974) and he has continued to publish a novel about every three years. He has also written autobiographical novels, short fiction, translations from Dutch and Afrikaans, and numerous essays and works of criticism.He also wrote many novels, Autobiographical novels, and Short fiction. For example,
Novels
Dusklands (1974)
In the Heart of the Country (1977)
Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)
Life & Times of Michael K (1983)
Foe (1986)
Age of Iron (1990)
The Master of Petersburg (1994)
Autobiographical novels
Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life (1997)
Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II (2002)
Summertime (2009)
Scenes from Provincial Life (2011)
Short fiction
The Lives of Animals (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999)
Three Stories (Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2014)
Siete cuentos morales (Barcelona: El Hilo de Ariadna/Literatura Random House, 2018)
Q. 1 – How would you differentiate the character of Cruso and Crusoe?
In Denial Defoe's Novel Robin Crusoe, Crusoe is protagonist and the entire novel revolves around him. The title itself showing that. Where in J. M
Coetzee's novel 'Foe', Susan Barton is protagonist and the story revolves around her. Character of Crusoe in both the novel are portrayed quite differently. Let us discuss that.
Robinson Crusoe in Defoe's Novel (Robinson Crusoe) :-
Character of Crusoe in Defoe's novel is protagonist and the narrator of the novel. He is individualistic, self-reliant, and adventurous. He continually discounts the good advice and warnings of his parents and others, and boldly seeks to make his own life by going to sea.Defoe presents Robinson as the novel's intrepid hero, who draws on reserves of ingenuity and bravery to survive incredibly against the whims of nature and fate. This quote is showing his character,
"My father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent share of learning, as far as house-education and a country free school generally go, and designed me for the law; but I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands of my father, and against all the entreaties and persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed to be something fatal in that propensity of nature, tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me."
Cruso in J. M Coetzee's novel 'Foe' :-
In Defoe's novel the name of protagonist is Robinson Crusoe but here in Coetzee's novel name of character is just 'Cruso'. Even he is not protagonist here. He is described as a weak, ill person who most of the time able to do nothing, Friday tack care of him. Robinson Cruso from the positive hero and master of even the most desperate situations in life, the former protagonist of Defoe's novel has turned into an anti-hero in Foe.
Cruso differs enormously from his literary predecessor.Cruso does not save anything from the wreck except for a knife. Moreover, he says that there is no need for tools, and the few tools he has made himself are a needle made of fishbone, a wooden spade, a "sharp stone lashed to a stick" as mattock, and carved blocks of wood as bowls.Those are only the most essential tools for survival, i.e. the tools to build a hut, sew clothes, and eat. Compared to the equipment of his 18th-century predecessor, Cruso's equipment is indeed relatively poor: Robinson Crusoe had gotten clothes, tools, and firearms from the wreck, also razors, scissors, knives, and forks. Later on, he manages to make baskets, earthenware, a mortar and pestle, candles, a canoe, a tobacco pipe, etc. While Robinson Crusoe puts a lot of effort into improving his equipment and is always eager to get new tools, Cruso is satisfied once he reaches the state when mere survival is guaranteed. In a way, both Crusoe and Cruso represent different 'stages' of civilisation: whereas Crusoe is constantly progressing to reach the state of an early agricultural society, Cruso does not intend to 'develop' or even change his lifestyle but stays 'hunter and collector'. He is in no way interested in progress, and he rationalises not making any candles in a rather philosophic way: "Which is easier: to learn to see in the dark, or to kill a whale and seeth it down for the sake of a candle?". His cryptic explanation is both a hint to human laziness and a critique of progress itself.
This how cruso is different than crusoe. Dafoe's Crusoe is protagonist while Coetzee's cruso is not. And the reason is given above.
Q.2 Friday’s characteristics and persona in Foe and in Robinson Crusoe.
Friday is one of the main characters of Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. Robinson Crusoe names the man Friday, with whom he cannot at first communicate, because they first meet on that day. The character is the source of the expression "Man Friday", used to describe a male personal assistant or servant, especially one who is particularly competent or loyal. Current usage also includes "Girl Friday".Crusoe describes Friday as being a Native American, though very unlike the Indians of Brazil and Virginia.His religion involves the worship of a mountain god named Benamuckee, officiated over by high priests called Oowokakee. Crusoe learned a few of his native words that have been found in a Spanish-Térraba (or Teribe) dictionary, so Friday may have belonged to that tribe, also called the Naso people. Friday is cannibalistic as well and suggests eating the men Crusoe has killed.
So by this we came to. Know. That Friday is described as a slave and pay no attention on him personally, excepting he is Caliban person and serves Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe taught him the word, "Master" first and then taught him English language. This behavior of crusoe is showing colonial concept and how White's are making slave to others like crusoe. In Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Friday is treated as a object, that Crusoe, the Protagonist use for his own benefit.
While in Foe by Coetzee, more attention get paid on character of Friday. Susan treat him with compassion and living being even if he is black.His race in Foe is African, not native, and his hair is described as “A head of fuzzy wool”.and “like lambs wool,” opposed to in Robinson Crusoe, where is his hair is “long and black, not curl'd like wool”. The final difference is that fact that in Foe, he has no tongue.which is showing that black has no right to raise voice even if they have chance. This how character of Crusoe and Cruso portrayed in both the novel.
Q.3 Is Susan reflecting the white mentality of Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe)?
Susan Barton, the narrator in Foe, finds herself shipwrecked on a desolate island with a man named Robinson Cruso. It does not take long for Barton to recognize her status on the island after she tells Cruso her story of being washed ashore. She says, “I presented myself to Cruso, in the days when he still ruled over the island, and became his second subject, the first being his manservant Friday” (Coetzee 11). Throughout the novel, even long after Cruso’s death, she describes the island as “Cruso’s island.” She finds herself as the mere female companion to the king and his manservant, Friday.
Susan sometimes reflect white mentality of Robinson crusoe. the major point here is their different way to treat Friday.Robinson Crusoe is treating Friday as a servant or slave. Where susan treat him like friend. The major example of it is Crusoe taught Friday "Master" word in English language that itself reflecting colonial mindset or white mentality. White people used to believe that they are superior and they have right to enslaved all black and brown skinned people. God given them work to civilize them. And under this superstition they used to enslaved black people, treat them as they are inferior and like a salve.Crusoe also part of this white mentality, he is on a island that is belong to Friday, overpowered that island and made Friday slave. As white people used to colonized the world.
If readers read Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, character of crusoe portrayed as a protagonist and suffering of Friday paid no attention. But in Foe, Susan treat Friday as her friend, try to teach him various skills, and language, writing. And if one can compare both the novel, immediately one can find that Robinson Crusoe is reflecting white mentality. Sometimes we find that Susan also has White mentality in her mind. For example she also enjoying her domination over Friday, as she thinking to teach him, trying to make him civilize. That is also showing that she is feeling proud for Friday's inferiority, she is not pretending but in her behavior we find it at many place and in many ways.
For more information of Foe by J. M. Coetzee watch this video.
I hope my blog will be helpful to you. Thanks for visit!
Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written in a response to Thinking Activity, Which is Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about a well known play 'Final Solution' by Mahesh Dattani, along with that About the author and several important questions related to the text. Read the questions here in the professor's Blog.(CLICK)
Final solution is the three act's play written by an Indian writer Mahesh Dattani. The play was written and performed in 1993. It was first performed at Guru Nayak Bhavan Bangalore, on 10 July 1993. There are seven important characters in the play excepting Corus. Also the play has Five corus characters they initially change into Hindu and Muslim by changing masks.
The play was subsequently performed at Tara Theatre, Mumbai, on 11 December 1993. The play was also translated into hindi by Shahid Anwar and directed by Arvind Gaur for Asmita Theatre in 1998. Click here to read Summary of the play.
This are the main characters of the play.
Watch the play here.
About Author (Mahesh Dattani)
Mahesh Dattani is an Indian Writer, director, playwright, and actor. He was born on 7 August 1958 (age 64 years) in Bengaluru. He is the one playwright in English language to be awarded the sahitya Akademi Award. He also received Sahitya Kala Parishad selected Final Solutions (1993), Tara (2000) and 30 Days in September (2007) as best productions of the year, directed by Arvind Gaur. He began his Career as a copywriter in an advertising firm.In 1986 he wrote his first full length play 'Where There's a Will' and began his career as a full time theatre professional. He is also a film director, directed movies like Mango Souffle and Morning Raaga.
He wrote many famous plays on Social crisis, political problems and human Rights. His famous plays are,
1)Where There's a Will (1988)
2)Dance Like a Man (1989)
3)Bravely Fought the Queen (1991)
4)Final Solutions (1993)
5)Do The Needful On a Muggy Night in Mumbai (1998)
6)Seven Circles Round The Fire (Radio play for BBC) (Seven Steps around the Fire) (1998)
1)What is the significance of the subtitle "Final Solutions"?
Final solution is one of the best play of Mahesh Dattani. The title is confusing because there is one more book we have with same title, that is "The Final Solution" by Michael Chabon, A Story of Detection is a 2004 novella.
The paly is about Situation after India get Independence. There was a riots, Hindu - Muslim Conflicts, Casteism, Shifting, partition etc. People are worried as well as tired of all the things, people get killed and tortured by others. All this things Dattani try to portray by his play Final solution. We have two characters Bobby and Javed, who are tortured and attempted to got murder by corus having Hindu masks. Also we find that Muslim girls hostel get bombed by Hindus, this incident we came to know by Smita whose friend Taneem is in the hostel when incident happened.
People are finding for solution for all mess but at last they get nothing. So here the title 'final solution' we interprete that, The final solution is no solution at all. This Solution less dystopic world is the only choice for human being to live.
2)The movie comes up with many different symbols and colors. Write about any two symbols which caught your attention. What does it signify?
In the movie Final Solution, we find many symbols used well by Mahesh Dattani. For example Religious things (Idol of Lord Krishna and Muslim Cap), Diary of Daksha, Masks etc. Let me discuss it shortly.
1- Religious Things (Idol of Lord Krishna and Muslim Cap)
When Javed and Bobby Shelter in the house of Ramnik, Ramnik's Daughter Smita claimed to know them both and then there is one scene in which Smita robbed Javed's Cap which generally symbol of Muslim community and wear it on her head, also there is one another scene we find at last in play where Bobby took idol of Lord Krishna in his hand that is generally symbol of Hinduism. In both this scenes we find Muslim boy took idol of Hindu God and Hindu girl wear cap of Muslim boy. They exchanging their identities symbolically and try to vanish differences between Hindu And Muslim community.
2 - Diary of Daksha :-
Diary of Daksha is symbol of History, it is keeping record of after independence time. But somewhere lacked to show reality, because she herself not aware about the truth. She thought that Zarin's family treat her ill but in reality Daksha's in-laws put fire on the shop of Zarin's father's shop because they want to establish their business there. So this thing is also showing limits of person's knowledge.
3 - Masks :-
We have two kinds of masks Hindu masks and Muslim masks. Masks representing community. By changing masks corus becoming Hidus or Muslims.
3) Is Ramnik a liberal thinker? If yes then why? If not then why?
No, Ramnik is not a liberal thinker. By giving job to Javed and saving Bobby and Javed from traitors he try to make them believe that he is very liberal thinker. In the return of firing Muslim's shop, he just ready to give job to muslim boy Javed. So he is liberal but not as much he think. He try to vanish his faults which his family did in past but Javed made him realize that he is not Liberal at all.
4) Does education make any difference? Comment with the reference to the women characters.
Yes, education make difference. We have four women characters in the play. Daksha, Hardika, Aruna and Smita. Daksha and Hardika are the same but Young and old version of same person. We find Daksha and Smita are educated. Daksha is writing diary so we come to know that she is educated also smita is in college so she is also educated. And that's why they both don't believe in community differences. This we came to believe because both of them has Muslim friend, Daksha has Zarin and Smita has Tasneem. When other women Aruna, Mother of Smita and wife of Ramnik was still rigidly sinked into religious and had lots of superstitions that showing lack of education in her. Education give us vision to see beyond rigidity, and help to break religious barriers. It will help in full development of person.
I hope my blog will be helpful to you. Thanks for visit.
Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to present my own poem, written on a subject of Queer identity. Also i have written interpretation on it.
Title :- Identity
You see? Who am i?
Not male, not female either,
But a human being, just a human.
With no gender identity.
Though carrying equal ownership of the earth.
You all so-called male and female,
Can not neglect our ownership.
As well as our existence.
We are here, since you were.
You peek into the "Mahabharata",
Are you able to find "Shikhandi"?
You see what was "Ardhanarishvara"!
Who was "Brihannala"!
Our only ancestors.
We've been around since you were,
We breathe, we eat, we drink, we take care of our mother earth,
And the most auspicious thing is that we are living.
Just like you, but with no grudges,
No arrogance, no ego, no violence.
Bless all of you, your newborns.
Did we ask for anything in return?
Except for respect and acceptance!
Not from the law, but from society.
Now, forget it.
Ever since we understood reality,
We have stopped expecting social acceptance.
Society is nothing but a hub.
A big hub of bondage and yoke.
We are the children of the earth,
Accept you all,
So - called male and female,
As our beloved siblings.
We accept you all.
- Himanshi parmar. (MAAN)
Interpretation
First line i have taken from 'An Introduction' by Kamala Das. This poem is my own creative writing. The poem is based on crisis of Third Gender. The photo of rainbow is also representing third gender identity.
The poem is narrated by Third gender. In first stanza the person asking that You know who am i? By asking this question the person neglecting idea of man - Women identity, And considering itself as a human.and claim to have equal ownership of earth.
In second stanza, The person recalling history. Telling that our community is existing, since the so called man and women are existing. And gave examples of Shikhandi, Brihannala and Ardhanarishvara, they are the examplea of third gender.
In third stanza the person mentioning all the habits that human being require to survive like eat, drink, breath, live. By comparing this habits, the person trying to erase difference between men - Women and third gender.
In next stanza, the person talks about how their community blessing all new Borns, that is the ritual or belief that if third gender person bless newborns then it is good. Also the stanza talks that in return it's community asking for nothing in return and living without any grudge, ego, arrogance and violence. Just what they want is respect, not from law but from society.
In last stanza, the person stop expecting everything and considered a society as a hub of yoke and bondage. Satirizing men and women by accepting them as their dear siblings. Even if women and men not accept them as human. They accept them as their siblings.
At last, In the era when we are far forward in education and technology, and became cultured human beings, still we are not accepting minority or Third gender. Still their are fighting for their identity and rights even if they got acceptance from law. Watch this news clip here,
Also this video is talking about suffering of third gender community. And their problems in society as a minority.
Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about Salman Rushdie's Novel Midnight's Children. And several questions related to the novel like Symbols, narrative technique, Character, theme, texture etc.
About Novel : Midnight's Children
Midnight's children was written in 1981, by British - Indian writer Salman Rushdie. It is a novel, includes theme like India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is magic realism anf historical fiction. Timeline in Midnight's children is 1918 to 1977.
The novel, Midnight's children written in three books.
Book one :- 1915 - 1947
Book two :- 1947 - 1965
Book three :- 1965 - 1978
Saleem is protagonist and narrator of the novel. Saleem telling story (Novel) to Padma. She came as a Listener in the novel. The story is not focussing on life of anyone but it covers generations.almost four generation are covered.The novel also received various awards, for example Midnight's Children sold over one million copies in the UK alone and won the Booker Prize and James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981. It was also awarded the "Booker of Bookers" Prize and the best all-time prize winners in 1993 and 2008 to celebrate the Booker Prize 25th and 40th anniversary. Click to read further about novel.
Film Midnight's children :-
Watch the movie here,
About Salman Rushdie :-
Full name of Salman Rushdie is Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie. He is an Indian-born British-American novelist. He was born on 19 June 1947 (age 75 years), He was completed his Bachelor's degree at King's College, Cambridge.mainly his works are based on Indian concept and deals with the connection between Eastern and Western civilization. Rushdie mainly known for use of magic realism and historical fiction in his work.
He wrote many great works.Rushdie's second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), won the Booker Prize in 1981. After his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), Rushdie became the subject of several assassination attempts and death threats, including a fatwa calling for his death issued by Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran. In 2022, he attacked by one young boy, just because of Fatwa that was issued before so many years. He got stabbed while giving lecture in Newyork city on 12 August 2022. This is the news about that incident.
Now let me discuss several questions related to Movie based on the novel of Rushdie. The script of the movie was also written by Salman Rushdie himself.
Question - Answers
1) Narrative technique (changes made in film adaptation - for eg. absence of Padma, the Nati, the listener, the commenter - What is your interpretation?)
Salman Rushdie is always known for his unique narrative style. In Midnight's Children also we find this uniqueness. When we analyze narrative technique, we realize that it is always better to see "How" instead of "What", it means How story is told is more important than what is told in the story. Interesting story telling style always help to capture attention of audience or readers. It doesn't mean that what to be told is not important, it is important, but it will only effect well if it told properly.
Salman Rushdie might very well aware of this, that's why he use very unique style in his Novels, he use Western Postmodern Device and Indian Oral Narratological Methods. He is also known for using Hybridity in his novels. That's what make his narration different than others.
In narrative technique we find various examples or Metaphors that are often use to differentiate texts.
Metaphors of narrative techniques :-
1) To The light House (Virginia Woolf) and Ulsyss (James Joyce) :-
This two texts are considers as a best examples of Stream of Consciousness. The technique that is describing inner thought process or flow of thoughts in the mind of writer. If we see the dictionary meaning of Stream of Consciousness, Oxford Dictionary says that, "A literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue. James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Marcel Proust are among its notable early exponents."
2) Russian Dolls :-
It is a well known metaphor for narration. This all dolls are seems very similar. Also it is like a dolls within dolls or we can say row of dolls. Russian dolls are portraying the text that has story within story, And interlinked stories. Also it is referring stories that has same and confusing concepts.
3) Chinese Box :-
Chinese Box is metaphor for Frame narrative technique. This kind of narrative is not changing the narrative but for changing the perspective.normally this narrative technique is known as a 'A Box Chinese structure'. In literature, a Chinese box structure refers to a frame narrative, where a novel or drama is told in the form of a narrative inside a narrative (and so on), giving views from different perspectives. There are lots of examples available in literature of this form of writing, for example Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Read here that how Mary Shelley used Chinese Box structure in Frankenstein.(click to read)
4) Indian Oral Narratological Methods : Panchatantra and Kathasaritasagar.
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. The surviving work is dated to about 200 BCE, but the fables are likely much more ancient.Panchatantra was written by Vishnu Sharma. He use animal character to tell story and to give lesson by story telling. He use animals like The Lion, The Tortoise, The Mongoose, owls, The Dove, Monkey, The Mouse, The Deer etc.
The Kathāsaritsāgara is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva. The story was originally written in Sanskrit.Kathāsaritsāgara contains multiple layers of story within a story and is said to have been adopted from Guṇāḍhya's Bṛhatkathā ("the Great Narrative"), which was written in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśāchī.
In both this works we find similar narrative technique, which is story within story kind of narration.
5) Baital Pachisi :-
Vetal pachisi or Baital pachisi is also known as Vikram - Betaal. Originally it was written in Sanskrit and later translated in various languages.Vetala Panchavimshati is a collection of tales and legends within a frame story, from India.
In Vetal pachisi vetal and king Vikram is main character. Vetal is telling twenty - five stories to Vikram and says that at the end of each story vetal will ask question and king Vikram has to give answer, if he know answer then it is okay, but if he will not give answer even if he know the answer than vetal will fly away. So here in this story also we find story within story, And lots of characters are also there.
6) Sihasan Battisi :-
Sihasan Battisi is also similar like Baital Pachisi. In this, thirty two dolls telling story, and creat narration of story within a story.
7) Arabian Nights : Alif Laila :-
Originally the story was written in Arabic language. It's a folk tale and Frame story. One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English-language edition, which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment. Main characters of this story is Scheherazade, Sinbad, Shahryār, Jafar, Shah Zaman, Dunyazad, Morgiana, King Yunan etc.
In this book we find similar narration like Rushdie's Midnight's children. In Arabic night Scheherazade is telling story to Shahryār. Just like Saleem telling story to Padma.
8) Midnight's children :-
In Midnight's children we find Hybridity in narration. Complexity in plot structure. Lots of characters are there, and name and parentage of everyone is Also in doubt. For example at the end of the novel we came to know that Saleem is not saleem, but he is shiv, where shiv is saleem. So it is very confusing narration and portrayal of all characters.
In Midnight's children, Rushdie use Pickle Jars to tell story. Each Jar is one separate chapter of the novel. We also find lines in the novel that,
Thirty jars stand upon a shelf, waiting to be unleashed upon the amnesiac nation. And beside them, one jar stands empty.
We have thirty chapters in the Novel.but last Jar is empty means the novel is yet not completed, interpretation is now author leave on to readers. Here is the list of chapters.
2) Characters (how many included, how many left out - Why? What is your interpretation?)
We have lots of characters in the novel and in the movie as well. Which make story complex.most of the characters are example of Hybridity. The protagonist and narrator Saleem is himself a hybrid child. Also the characters have risky identities, for example Saleem is not Saleem but he is shiv, and shiv is Saleem that revealed at the end of the novel. All the characters are very well structured in the movie. Here is the list of characters and their performers.
Satya Bhabha as Saleem Sinai
Shriya Saran as Parvati-the-witch
Siddharth Narayan as Shiva
Darsheel Safary as Saleem Sinai (as a child)
Anupam Kher as Ghani
Shabana Azmi as Naseem
Neha Mahajan as Young Naseem
Seema Biswas as Mary
Charles Dance as William Methwold
Samrat Chakrabarti as Wee Willie Winkie
Rajat Kapoor as Aadam Aziz
Soha Ali Khan as Jamila
Rahul Bose as Zulfikar
Anita Majumdar as Emerald
Shahana Goswami as Amina
Chandan Roy Sanyal as Joseph D'Costa
Ronit Roy as Ahmed Sinai
Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Picture Singh
Shikha Talsania as Alia
Zaib Shaikh as Nadir Khan
Sarita Choudhury as Indira Gandhi
Vinay Pathak as Hardy
Kapila Jeyawardena as Governor
Ranvir Shorey as Laurel
Suresh Menon as Field Marshal
G.R Perera as Astrologer
Rajesh Khera
Salman Rushdie, narrator. The film was Directed by
Movie almost cover most of the characters from novel. But still some characters are missing in the movie, where present in the novel. Here is the list of it.
1- Sonny Ibrahim
2 - Padma
3 - Nalikar Women
4 - Commander Sabarmati
5 - Lila Sabarmati
6- Ramram Sheth
7- Homy Carrack
8 -Alice Pereira
The others are Minor characters but Padma is one of the main character in the novel. She is the listener, nati in the novel, And yet missing in the movie, even if the script was written by the author himself. Here in the movie, Parvati the witch gained much importance.
3) Themes and Symbols (if film adaptation able to capture themes and symbols?)
There are many symbols and Themes are used in the movie. Here, let me discuss all line by line.
Symbols
1) The Perforated Sheet
The perforated sheet is taken as a symbolic way. First we find use of perforated sheet when Aadam Aziz saw his future wife. He is unable to see her whole but always see her in piece. That is symbolizing that their love never has that bond that hold them together, And don't have even enough understanding. The second time we see use of perforated sheet when Jamila is singing a song of victory of Pakistan, before war happened between India and Pakistan. That is also symbolizing that how people of Pakistan are not aware about reality that their nation have no chance of victory.
2) The Silver Spittoon
The Silver Spittoon is belong to Amina, given her in dowry by Rani of Cooch Naheen. The spittoon also later become reason of Saleem's loss of memory. Amina always carry spittoon with her in movie, after the burning of house, and death of all family members excepting Saleem, Saleem used to carry spittoon everywhere with him as it is the only remark of his past life. So here spittoon come as a symbol of history, along with it is also symbolizing Vanishing era.
3) Knees and Nose
Saleem sinai has a large, bulbous nose, symbolizing power, by which he is capable to connect all Midnight's children together for conference.Midnight's childrens are those,who are born on a night of Independence. Nose is also symbol of his identity or blood relations with Amina as everyone believing that Saleem inherited his nose from his Grandfather Adam Aziz. But at the end we find that Saleem don't have any Blood connection with Amina, so here Rushdie satirizing on implied identities.
Knees are also symbolizing power, but Here it is physical power that shiv has. Shiv is physically more powerful than Saleem. So by the reference of Knees and nose, it can symbolize conflict between mental and physical power.
Themes
1) History
Salman Rushdie uses strong connection of history in Midnight's children. As specially Saleem has a great connection with history, as he was born on night of India's Independence. Here Rushdie gave special powers to all the characters who were born on a night of Independence of India. Also Spittoon came as a symbol of history which is showing change is time, in generations and in living habits of people.
2) Nationality
The movie portrayed divisions of Hindustan in two parts India and Pakistan. Also the scene where India get Independence. The time wasn't easy to survive for anyone, Hindus or Muslims. Lots of migration was happened by Both the communities. People are finding safe place for them and lots of crisis happened because of nationality.
3) Identity
Identity is one of the major theme. Mary, the nurse, exchanged Saleem and Shiv. At the end audience came to know that Saleem is Shiv and Shiv is Saleem. So identity crisis are also there. Also Hybridity is main focus in the novel. Most of the important characters had hybrid identities.
4) The texture of the novel (What is the texture of the novel? Well, it is the interconnectedness of narrative technique with the theme. Is it well captured?)
The story time and again going back in flashback. Saleem is narrator, he is telling a story to Padma. And when he remembere something in between the story, he used to add it as a flashback. In the movie adaptation, padma is absent, but flashback technique is used well.In the movie we find use of timelines. It begins with 1915 and end in 1978. In between we find time stamps like 1915 – 1947, 1947 – 1965, 1965 – 1978. Also name of place were given.
5)What is your aesthetic experience after watching the screening?
The movie was directed by Deepa Mehta and screen writing happened by the author himself,by Salman Rushdie. The film was beautifully made and it is worth watching. But if we compare it with novel we find that somewhere movie is lacking. Movies have time limits for three hours so it is not possible to display everything in movie which had in novel. So it is good to make web series on Midnight's children rather than movie. One important character is missing in the movie, Padma, The nati and listener is not portrayed in the movie, so that change is quite surprising. Except that movie is going with the same flow of novel. Everything was displayed beautiful. As specially the character of picture Singh and Jamila. And the scene where Saleem lost his memory attracted me a lot.
I hope this information will be helpful to you. Thanks for visit.
